Batteries for handheld applications like mobile phones have a built-in safety circuit, which protects the battery from over-charge and over-discharge. When the safety circuit has been activated by over-discharge, the built-in series switch is opened. As a consequence, the battery can only be charged. Only when the battery is recharged again to a sufficiently high voltage the safety resets to normal state again. A difficulty occurs when the application goes to an active state, i.e. turned on, at a moment when the battery has not returned to its normal operation mode. The buffering capacity of the battery to supply switch-on inrush currents is then not available. As a consequence the jump to active state fails, and the application cannot be used.